<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Alcohol by Emily_F6</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23165524">Alcohol</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_F6/pseuds/Emily_F6'>Emily_F6</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Irondad Bingo 2019 [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Irondad Bingo 2019, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs Sleep, Tony Stark Needs a Hug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:41:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,945</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23165524</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_F6/pseuds/Emily_F6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony has always had a habit of turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms when things are hard.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peter Parker &amp; Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Irondad Bingo 2019 [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1664827</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>181</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Alcohol</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter threw his head back and yawned, stretching and groaning as he pushed his textbook away. It had a few weeks since he'd gotten back. He wanted to laugh at the thought. Gotten back. As if he'd gone somewhere. Voluntarily.</p><p>Reappeared.</p><p>Rematerialized. On Titan.</p><p>Peter shook his head hard, scrubbing a hand over his face. He was technically older now, but he was still in high school. A lot of people were. Ned. MJ. Both lost in a snap. And…Peter put a hand over his eyes, swallowing hard. Very determinedly swallowing. Taking a deep breath. Not again. He'd already thrown up twice that morning after a nightmare. A nightmare made up of orange and rocks and death and he had been so afraid and Mr. Stark had been there when he'd woken up, gasping and almost falling in his haste to get to the toilet where he'd done the throwing up.</p><p>"It's okay…hey, buddy. It's okay. I'm here, kiddo."</p><p>And he had been. Ever since Peter had gotten back, Mr. Stark had been there. There had been that first hug on the battlefield, and after Carol, who was the coolest person Peter had ever met, had snapped her fingers and ended it all, Mr. Stark had hugged him again. Had sought him out and thrown his arms around him and kissed his head.</p><p>"I love you, kid. So much…shit…I missed you. I missed you, buddy." Mr. Stark's voice had broken and Peter had hugged him tighter, rubbing his back, a little worried. "I missed you so much, Pete."</p><p>"I'm sorry…" Peter had started, not sure what exactly to say.</p><p>"Don't. Don't apologize, Peter." Mr. Stark had pulled away, hands on Peter's shoulder in the midst of the battlefield that was no longer a battlefield. All around them, people had been getting patched up and the Avengers had been hugging and talking to one another and Tony had gone straight to him. "I have a daughter now…god…I have a little girl and she knows all about you and…" He'd wiped a hand over his face, shaking his head. "Sorry. I'm sorry, kid."</p><p>"No…I…" Peter had faltered, then moved closer, almost hesitantly, and Mr. Stark and wrapped him in his arms again. "I'm okay. I'm back. Everything's okay. We won." The man had nodded, sniffing a little.</p><p>"Yeah. We won."</p><p>"I can't wait to meet your daughter. It sounds like you oversold me. Hopefully, she won't be disappointed." Mr. Stark had chuckled, shaking his head.</p><p>"She couldn't be, Peter."</p><p>She hadn't been. Morgan had taken one look at him, her face had lit up, and then she'd rushed into his arms, jumping into them, and he'd barely had time to catch her. "Peter!"</p><p>Peter had laughed a little, meeting Mr. Stark's eyes, surprised that the man had been looking away, sniffing and rubbing absently at his eyes. Feeling like he was intruding, he'd focused on Morgan once more, holding her at eye level. "Hi. It's nice to meet you, Morgan."</p><p>"Daddy told me you were like my big brother, and he said you were a superhero like him and Mom, and he said that I might get to meet you one day."</p><p>"Wow…yeah. I'm…um…"</p><p>"Will you read me a bedtime story tonight?"</p><p>"I…if…I don't know if I'm going to be here that long…" May had said that she was fine with him going to Mr. Stark's lake house for the day. She had been snapped too…honestly, it's like they'd barely missed any time together. But he knew that she was freaked out.</p><p>"Stay as late as you want, Pete. Hell, stay as long as you want." Mr. Stark had urged.</p><p>That night, Peter had read her a bedtime story. Then Mr. Stark had shown him his bedroom. A spare room that Mr. Stark had made into a bedroom for him. "Mr. Stark…when…"</p><p>"It was in the first draft of the building plan I drew up."</p><p>And that had been that.</p><p>It was kind of…not strange. It was nice. It was…a lot. One moment, he'd been on Titan with Mr. Stark, the next he'd found himself on a battlefield, also with Mr. Stark who now had a daughter and was married to Pepper and lived in a lake house…and who had gray hair. And apparently, Mr. Stark had really, really missed him. Of course, they'd gotten closer since he'd beaten the Vulture. Of course, he'd come to see the man as like a father. It just seemed like Mr. Stark had come to see him the same way.</p><p>It was weird.</p><p>High school, he muttered to himself. He needed to focus on high school and…he checked the front on his textbook, eyes blurry from exhaustion and probably boredom…Physics. He would probably need Physics. It was a Friday night…well, closer to Saturday morning, and Mr. Stark had picked him up after school, Morgan in the car, excited to see him.</p><p>It was all very new.</p><p>The little girl had gone to bed a few hours ago, granting him time to do some homework. Mr. Stark had promised lab time later, so that was exciting. He had a lab in his lake house, of course, and Peter had been promised a tour and also enough materials to make his web fluid…not that he'd been Spiderman since coming back. Still…he would. Eventually. Probably.</p><p>He perked up at the sound of something breaking. A glass. Blinking, he stood from his desk in his bedroom…his bedroom in Mr. Stark's lake house. No matter how many times he thought the words, it was still weird. Leaving his room but leaving his door cracked, he peered into Morgan's room next door. Her door was cracked too, a little blue night light glowing in the corner…she was fast asleep. He listened at the door of Pepper and Mr. Stark's room…he could hear her breathing, but not him. He'd heard the two of them earlier…just a little. When the fight had started, he'd put in his earbuds, making sure not to listen in. Everyone fought.</p><p>Mr. Stark had seemed…strange earlier. Not quite upset, but he'd stuck close to Peter's side, the four of them eating dinner together, and then they had all headed out to the lake. It was still warm enough to swim, and Peter and Morgan had gotten in the water while Mr. Stark and Pepper had stayed on the shore in lounge chairs, Pepper with a book, Mr. Stark just watching them. Morgan had worn herself out after about an hour, but instead of getting out of the water, she'd clung to Peter who had lay on his back in the water, holding her on his chest, and there she'd fallen asleep until he'd carried her in.</p><p>When Mr. Stark had taken her from his arms after a few minutes, afraid she would get cold, the man had had that strange look in his eyes. Still, he'd patted Peter on the shoulder before carrying Morgan in and getting her in a bath.</p><p>Being as quiet as he could, he listened for Mr. Stark's footsteps, heartbeat, breathing…any of it would give away his position. He wasn't sure what could have broken…then there came the sound of something else breaking…a glass. Peter hurried toward the sound, padding down the stairs and coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of the staircase.</p><p>Mr. Stark stood in the middle of his lab, which looked like a tornado had ripped through it. There were papers scattered all around, and in one corner, a pile of glass shards. On the table beside the man were three bottles of dark colored alcohol, and Mr. Stark was gripping a glass in his hand, head lowered, shoulders shaking. For a moment, Peter wanted to leave. He was intruding. Mr. Stark wouldn't want him seeing this. Then the man let out a sob, pulling his arm back, then letting the glass fly into the far corner with the others before covering his face with his hands.</p><p>Peter tiptoed down the stairs, clearing his throat as he approached the man, and Mr. Stark jumped, turning to Peter with haunted, red-rimmed eyes. Before he could say anything, Peter put his hands on his shoulders, peering into his eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked, his voice a whisper.</p><p>"I didn't…Pete, I swear I didn't drink anything." Peter nodded slowly, glancing at the three bottles of alcohol.</p><p>"Okay." He knew about the man's past. He knew that Mr. Stark had been an alcoholic. And he'd never seen the man drink anything alcoholic, but hadn't known if Mr. Stark had totally given it up.</p><p>"I don't want to. I don't want it." Peter nodded again.</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>Leaving the man standing where he was, Peter grabbed the three bottles by their necks, carried them over to the sink, then opened one, hesitating just a little. But Mr. Stark was silent as he opened it, then began to pour the contents down the sink. One after the other, he emptied all three bottles, then lay them carefully in the trash. "There. Now you don't…"</p><p>He was cut off when Mr. Stark threw his arms around him, gripping so tight that it might have hurt had Peter not been enhanced. He remembered their hug on the battlefield, his shocked words. "Oh…this is nice." It seemed out of place now, so he just hugged him back, resting his chin on the man's shoulder. For a long time, the man struggled to control his breathing, and Peter stayed where he was, trying to be the strong one. Trying to hold him up. Physically, he could do it. But seeing the man shatter like this…it was terrifying. Tony Stark was Iron Man. He was larger than life and so cool and strong and he knew almost everything.</p><p>Now he was sobbing into Peter's shoulder.</p><p>He started to speak, but then the man took a deep, shuddering breath, pulling away and shaking his head. "Sorry, kid."</p><p>"You don't have to be…are you okay, Mr. Stark?"</p><p>"Yeah, buddy. I'm fine." He hesitated, then smiled a sad smile. "It was bad enough seeing you die once. But every night…". He shook his head, wiping a hand over his eyes. "Every fucking night I watch you disappear again, kid."</p><p>Not sure if he was even doing the right thing, Peter moved forward and hugged him again, this time gentler. Less desperate. "I'm okay, Tony. I'm fine. It's not real.</p><p>You don't have to worry about me."</p><p>Mr. Stark rubbed his back, letting out a scoff. "I always worry about you, Peter. Can't help it. You're my kid."</p><p>There was more to be said, of course. And they'd get to it one day, but for the moment, Peter figures that Mr. Stark could use something mindless. Something fun. "Want to watch a movie?"</p><p>He chuckled. "Sure Pete. Star Wars?"</p><p>Peter felt the blood drain from his face and he shook his head. "No." He whispered, feeling nausea rise in his stomach. "Nothing in space."</p><p>The man's face softened and Mr. Stark put a hand on his back. "Alright, buddy. You're right. I'm sick of that one anyway. How about something Disney? Zootopia?"</p><p>Peter nodded. That one was light. Funny. Had nothing to do with dead parents or outer space or the memories of war that he couldn't seem to escape. "Yeah. Sounds good."</p><p>With a firm hand on his back, Tony led him up the stairs, leaving the mess to be cleaned up the next day.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>